Watershed Management

Overview

The Cape Cod Area Wide Water Quality Management Plan (208 Plan) acknowledged the need to explore various strategies to meet nutrient management goals.

The Technologies Matrix (Matrix) is a resource that compiles data on a range of nutrient management technologies, including conventional and non-traditional technologies at a range of scales, spanning from the individual lot level to community and watershed-based solutions. It is an evolving tool meant to aid in selecting appropriate technologies for nitrogen management on Cape Cod.

The Matrix was published in 2015 following two years of research by Cape Cod Commission staff and private consultants, review by a panel of experts, and vetting by state, federal, and other stakeholders. The 208 Plan recommends regular review and updates of the Matrix to ensure it incorporates the latest data and the best scientific understanding of the included technologies.

Technologies are categorized by their methods of nutrient management (reduction, remediation, restoration) and the scale at which they can be implemented (on-site, neighborhood, watershed, or Cape-wide).

All technologies included in the Matrix have shown promise as being useful for managing nitrogen, yet some are untested or have only been used at small scales.

The technologies and approaches included in the Technologies Matrix address nutrients by means of restoration, remediation, and reduction and are implementable in scales ranging from on-site, to neighborhood, watershed, and Cape-wide.

As recommended in the 208 Plan, the Commission led reviews of and updates to the Matrix in 2017 and 2020. 

Using the Matrix

The Matrix is a planning tool rather than replacement for the detailed analysis and engineering components needed to develop a comprehensive watershed management solution.

When referencing the Technologies Matrix, the user should understand watershed-wide conditions when selecting technologies to be evaluated as part of a watershed scenario. Data within the Matrix should be employed strategically and with an understanding of the opportunities and constraints that exist within the planning area.

One feature of the Matrix is a status check of piloting and DEP approval for each technology. Not all non-traditional options have been tested on Cape Cod or in Massachusetts environments, and questions remain about their nitrogen-management potential. While cost and performance are important, the feasibility of permitting and implementing a technology at a specific site, whether for environmental or social-acceptability concerns, will be important.

Whenever utilizing Matrix data, care should be taken to identify site-specific characteristics and limitations of a particular technology.

 Try out technologies using Watershed MVP

WatershedMVP is a map-based scenario planning tool that allows the user to investigate water quality management strategies at scales ranging from the neighborhood to the sub region. The application is for professionals, municipal officials and community members to assist in creating the most cost-effective and efficient solutions to Cape Cod’s water quality problem. The application is an informational resource intended to provide regional estimates of nitrogen loads for planning purposes. It presents parcel‐based data and calculations for nitrogen loading that allow the user to quickly select and evaluate water quality management strategies by providing comparative nitrogen removal and cost analyses.